Kansas Voters Back Abortion Rights As Trump-backed Candidates Prevail

Voters in Kansas on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure that would have allowed lawmakers to restrict or ban abortion, Edison Research projected, while candidates backed by Donald Trump won Republican nominations for governor in Kansas and Michigan.

The Kansas vote on whether to remove abortion protections from the state constitution - and potentially allow Republican lawmakers to restrict or ban the procedure - was the first such ballot measure since the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated a nationwide right to abortion in June.

Elsewhere in the five states holding primary elections ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections, candidates endorsed by the former president locked up Republican nominations.

In Michigan, Tudor Dixon, a conservative commentator who has echoed Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, won the Republican nomination for governor and will face Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer in one of the fall's most high-profile races.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, another Trump-backed candidate, secured the Republican nomination for governor. He will face Democratic Governor Laura Kelly in November in what is expected to be a highly competitive race.

With 78% of the expected vote tallied, the Kansas abortion restrictions was opposed by 62% of voters, with 38% supporting it.

Unlike the Republican gubernatorial primaries, in which only registered Republicans were able to vote, Kansas' abortion initiative reflected the choices of voters of both major political parties, as well as independents.

In Missouri, Attorney General Eric Schmitt won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, boosting his party's chances of holding the seat after scandal-hit former Governor Eric Greitens finished well behind.

TEST OF TRUMP INFLUENCE

Tuesday's elections represent the latest test of Trump's sway over the Republican electorate, also including key contests in Arizona and Washington state. Several Trump-backed candidates have embraced the former president's falsehoods about voter fraud, raising concerns among some Republicans that they could be too extreme to defeat Democrats on Nov. 8.

The party appeared to have dodged that bullet in Missouri, where Greitens - who resigned the governorship in the midst of sexual assault and campaign finance fraud scandals - had attempted a political comeback. U.S. Representative Vicky Hartzler, whom Trump had criticized, had also run.

Late on Monday, Trump recommended voters choose either Schmitt or Greitens, with a statement that simply endorsed "Eric." Both candidates immediately claimed to have his endorsement.

Two Republican U.S. representatives who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters, Peter Meijer of Michigan and Jamie Herrera Beutler of Washington, also faced Trump-endorsed primary challengers.

With an economy teetering on the brink of recession and inflation surging, just 38% of Americans approve of President Joe Biden's job performance, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Tuesday - still near Biden's record low of 36%, hit in May. One in three voters said the biggest problem facing the United States today is the economy.

Biden's unpopularity is weighing on Democrats heading into the November general election, when Republicans are favored to win control of the House of Representatives and perhaps the Senate.

Control of either chamber would give Republicans the power to stymie Biden's legislative agenda while launching politically damaging hearings.

As he flirts publicly with the possibility of running for president again in 2024, Trump has endorsed more than 200 candidates. Most are safe bets - incumbent Republicans in conservative districts - but even in competitive races he has had a winning record.

Trump-backed nominees have won Republican primaries for U.S. Senate in Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, though his picks lost nominating contests for Georgia governor and for the U.S. House in South Carolina.

"Trump remains really popular with Republican primary voters. I don't think you can underestimate how he has remade the party in his image," said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist. "Republicans who run against Trump tend to get trampled."

On Tuesday, Arizona voters were picking between Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Karrin Taylor Robson, who has the backing of Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence.

Lake, a former news anchor, echoes Trump's false claims that his 2020 election defeat was the result of fraud and has said she would not have certified Biden's statewide victory in 2020. At a recent campaign stop, Lake claimed without evidence that fraud has already occurred during early voting, suggesting she may not accept a defeat on Tuesday.

The race for secretary of state - the state's top election official - also includes a Trump-endorsed candidate, state Representative Mark Finchem, who was present at Trump's Jan. 6, 2021, speech in Washington that preceded the U.S. Capitol attack. He wrote on Twitter on Thursday, "Trump won," prompting a Democratic candidate, Adrian Fontes, to call him a "traitor."

Arizona Republicans were picking a challenger to take on Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, seen as one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents.

Blake Masters, a former tech executive who has backed Trump's false fraud claims, has Trump's endorsement and the backing of tech billionaire Peter Thiel. He is leading in polls against Jim Lamon, a former power company executive, and Attorney General Mark Brnovich, whom Trump blames for not reversing Biden's 2020 statewide victory.